EVALUATION OF THE RED CROSS PROGRAM OF SAVING THE CHILDHOOD OF WAR AFFECTED CHILDREN FROM EX-YUGOSLAVIA IN GREEK FAMILIES

In the early 1990s, separation of constituent republics of Yugoslavia led to a civil war.In the following years, Serbia went through a social, political and economic crisis, and UN sanctions.To support children that were most affected by these conditions, a comprehensive Program of children recovery in Greek families was created.Children from Serbia and the Republic of Srpska were sent to Greece for recovery during holidays and for schooling (six months stays).In the period 1993 -2011, there were 21.648 children (7-16 years of age) that were hosted in families all over Greece.The recovery Program was overseen by the ministries of health, education, social care and foreign affairs in both countries.The aim of this paper was to explore the evaluation of this complicated and complex community-based psycho-social intervention.Qualitative evaluation was based on the available Program documentation, press-clipping, documentary films and semi-structured interviews with participantsex-children (17), teachers (three), Red Cross people -employees and volunteers (two) and Greek host familiesparents (five).Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.Due to the extremely sensitive situation of the children and overall uncertainty and ambiguity, great care was devoted to the process evaluation that entailed continuous monitoring of children by teachers, physicians, families, Red Cross professionals and volunteers.All children went through the before/after medical checkup.Those that went to school in Greece were assessed by their teachers.As part of the process evaluation of the overall Program, the stay of every group went through outcome evaluation.Teachers, physicians and Red Cross people reported about children's psychophysical health, adaptation and development at the beginning, during and after their stay.Findings were used for improving the stay of the following groups -dealing with selection of children and Greek families, activities with children and caring for their wellbeing.Most important benefits for the children were living in good conditions and safe places, attending school regularly, participating in family life, and shifting their focus from disasters of war.Positive experiences from the perspective of all the stakeholders led to enlargement of the Program.In the period 2021-2024 we performed qualitative evaluation of the Program.Decades later, memories of all the participants were extremely positive.Grown-up children had vivid memories of peaceful life, warmth, peer-related positive emotional memories, memories of sun and sea, and Greek culture.Safety, warmth and abundance were the key memories that were in strong contrast to war related memories.Ties between "ex-children" and Greek families are still strong.Staying with Greek families also had a strong impact on career paths of some children.Positive impact of the Program inspired long-term media attention over the years in both countries.Unique, long-term evaluation shows that however specific, restoration of routines was of critical importance for trauma recovery and resilience-building among war-affected children.The stay in Greece could not heal all the wounds but it helped children be children.